PML-N does a Raymond Davis; compels Hamid’s family to accept Diyat money

Former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in a bid to tell his supporters as to why he was ousted, took to the famous Grand Trunk Road last week. His excursion to Lahore was analyzed differently by detractors and supporters. However, politics aside, the rally took a life of an innocent 12-year old boy named Hamid from Lala Musa. It has been reported that the PML-N has given Hamid’s parents a sum of Rs 3 million as Diyat (compensation) ahead of the likely visit of Nawaz Sharif to the deceased house over the weekend. Nawaz, who while calling the boy the first martyr of his cause, has thus far not visited the bereaved family despite publically promising.

After his death, no representative of the ruling party went and condoled the tragic demise. Several hours after the incident, ruling party’s MNA/MPA were seen influencing the police while FIR was being registered.

Reportedly, PML-N’s Jaffer Iqbal along with the local DCO negotiated with the family. Ostensibly, this settlement was chalked-out in order to enable Nawaz’s visit to Hamid’s house. Diyat is once again back as a tool to snub the right of a poor family to attain justice when up against a powerful offender. Raymond Davis, the US contractor went scot free after the concept of Diyat was brought into the mix.

Protecting the culprits?

Hamid died after being crushed by one of the cars in Nawaz Sharif’s motorcade. Nawaz was not in the BMW car, though tv footages show him leaving in the same vehicle from Islamabad, so someone close and important was in that vehicle. The cavalcade – of Nawaz and close associates – which also included well equipped mobile ambulances did not stop; Hamid, the injured child that could have been saved, succumbed to injuries.

An uproar was caused when Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Captain Safdar, and Nawaz Sharif called Hamid a martyr in their struggle for democracy. Law Minister of Punjab, Rana Sanaullah haughtily brushed aside the event as routine; initially, he denied the fact that Hamid was crushed by one of the vehicles in the cavalcade.

After his death, no representative of the ruling party went and condoled the tragic demise. Several hours after the incident, ruling party’s MNA/MPA were seen influencing the police while FIR was being registered. At the same time, the disqualified premier was enjoying a scrumptious dinner with his supporters boisterously sharing the pictures of the Dastgir-hosted feast.

An uproar was caused when Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Captain Safdar, and Nawaz Sharif called Hamid a martyr in their struggle for democracy. Law Minister of Punjab, Rana Sanaullah haughtily brushed aside the event as routine; initially, he denied the fact that Hamid was crushed by one of the vehicles in the cavalcade.

The post-event footages and related developments depict a grotesque yet typical tale of Pakistan. If anything, the optics of a blood-riddled child laying on a street while Sharif’s state-of-the-art ambulances were passing by are dangerous for the already-bruised Sharifs. Perhaps, it may go on to haunt him, the Sharif family and the PML-N. It also speaks volumes of a saddening phenomenon where the weak cannot confront the powerful in spite of being the victim. If the entire event is replayed, it will exert pressure on the handlers of the rally. As evident from the footage, the child was hit by a vehicle of the caravan; the convoy didn’t stop and the hapless child lost his life while the onlookers could only curse the perpetrators. Hamid’s life could have been saved; there are no two ways about it.

The fact that the concept of Diyat was invoked despite the institution of a high-powered inquiry team headed by AIG Punjab Police, Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh, points out how henchmen are trying to save the real culprits.

Later tv footages revealed that the boy was crushed by BMW SS-875. It was the very car in which Nawaz Sharif started his excursion from Islamabad. Whether Nawaz was inside the vehicle or some close associate is not known.

The fact that the concept of Diyat was invoked despite the institution of a high-powered inquiry team headed by AIG Punjab Police, Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh, points out how henchmen are trying to save the real culprits.

Will an impartial inquiry put Nawaz Sharif in deep trouble? Will the continued journey after crushing a boy hound the Sharif family? Perhaps, the efforts to influence a transparent accountability and using the Islamic tool of Diyat are done out of utter fear of massive reprisals for the already-stung Sharif family.

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